29% Of The Toilets Built Under Swachh Bharat Do Not Exist, While 36% Unusable: Survey

Swachh Bharat Toilets
After conducting survey on 7,500 rural households, it has been found that 29 per cent of Swachh Bharat toilets only exist on paper and have not been built. 36 per cent of the toilets that have been built are not usable. The survey was conducted in December last year by Accountability Initiative at the Centre for Policy Research, across 10 districts in five states.

The survey covering Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar followed government’s achievement list and tried to find out the beneficiaries. Perusing the list, it was found that many of the names on it were mentioned twice.

While Satara in Maharashtra was found to be the best out of the 10 districts surveyed, Nalanda in Bihar — home of chief minister Nitish Kumar — was found to be the worst performing district.

One-third of the randomly selected respondents in the list reported that they defecate in open, the highest in Nalanda and Udaipur.

Rural inhabitants, who have built toilets under Swachh Bharat Mission, can request for reimbursement worth Rs 10-12,000. As per the reports published on Huffington Post, the survey found that 40 per cent of those who had applied for reimbursement did not receive it. In Jhalawar, the survey found less than 40 per cent households received the money. In Udaipur, only 18% eligible household even requested for the reimbursement, reflecting the lack of awareness about the scheme.

Though the government is supposed to monitor the use of toilets after they are built, but nearly 38 per cent of the households reported that no such monitoring has been conducted. In districts where the survey found poor implementation of the Swachh Bharat scheme, there was a toilet construction boom. In Jhalawar, 81% of new toilets have been built after April 2014.

While the government offers something between Rs 10 to 12,000 to build a toilet, the actual cost according to respondents is between Rs 15,000 and Rs 40,000.

The survey found that most of the construction is taking place without government help. Of the toilets built since April 2014, only 24% received government help. This statistic was worst for the Bihar districts of Nalanda (6%) and Purnea (3%).

Out of 57 per cent who told that they want government assistance in building toilets, 21 per cent said that they received it.

There is a massive lack of awareness in villages about the Swachh Bharat initiative. The government had promised to appoint Swachhta Doots or sanitation ambassadors in every gram panchayat. But only 6% respondents were aware of Swachhta Doots. Only 10% households were aware of Panchayat Swachhta Samitis in their village. Only 3% said they had been visited by government officials to tell them about the scheme. And only 16% said they had ever been surveyed by the government since 2012 to check the existence of a toilet in their home. Only 32% households said the government had monitored sanitation in their house.

The Logical Indian appeals to the government to scrutinise the Swachh Bharat initiative. Though the campaign claims of actively dealing cleanliness issues and setting up of toilets, such reports are appalling.

A UP Woman Sets Example For Others By Selling Her Mangalsutra To Build Toilet In Her House

Partner Story

An Army Colonel Is Changing Lives Of Thousand Of People From North-East Using White Bullets

Retiring after spending 32 years in the Indian Army, Col Chris Rego is helping change the destinies of hundreds of children in conflict-affected North East India through his “White Bullets” initiative. With this initiative, he hopes to bring peace and progress to communities across North East India.

Luminouswanted to bring out the Colonel’s story to the world to inspire and motivate others as it believes that education is a strong tool to empower women. It is supporting Col Rego’s cause through an initiative called #Luminaries – the brave people who stand up for causes like girl child education and make a difference in the society.

Col Rego’s journey started over a decade ago in Manipur when a tribal woman knocked on his door pleading for support for her daughter’s education. Touched by the woman’s story, Col Rego and his wife delved into their savings and arranged for the money for the girl’s education. Two years down the line, the woman returned, this time with a small pumpkin and a shawl that she had knitted, and all the money she had borrowed. Moved and realizing that their money could make lives rather than earn paltry interest, Col and Mrs. Rego embarked on a journey to arrange for sponsorship of many more underprivileged children.

Retiring from the Army, Col Rego took over as CEO of Sunbird Trust, a not-for-profit organization which he founded in 2014. The Trust now sponsor over 1,000 children in 21 locations acrossNorth East India. The centre of Sunbird Trust’s activities is at beautiful Ijeirong, Manipur.

Recognizing Col Chris’s immense work, Luminousacknowledged him as their first Luminary. Through this, they hope to bring more power to his elbow in the notable work he is doing. The Luminousteam travelled to remote Ijeirong village and installed solar products. These solar products will help in providing power to the entire campus 24/7 for the very first time.

The Logical Indian salutes Col Christopher Rego for his untiring efforts and leadership. His efforts are already having a cascading effect on people from across India joining the “White Bullets” endeavour. Quite amazingly, education, in itself so empowering, is merely a means to PEACE. We hope the path illuminated by #Luminary Col Rego and his Sunbird Trust team acts as a beacon for others to follow.

If you too have stories of change, share them with us. And if you want to connect with Colonel Rego, click here.